Life Before Death

I have a new book out and it is called Life Before Death* . It is short (less than 70 pages!) and cheap, and began life as my Theology MA thesis.

The book is a bit more academic than my previous book, and specifically looks at the gospel message that we see in John’s gospel to see what Jesus means by the offer of eternal life and what we should understand by the concept of judgment.

Rather than me blabbing on about it, here is the blurb on the back:

“Many Evangelical Christians state that, if it were not for hell, they would not be a Christian, but was the threat of judgment part of Jesus’ gospel invitation? Is fear really a good reason to be a Christian? Are we, as this statement implies, jealous of a hedonistic lifestyle? Does Jesus invite us to a receive a ticket to heaven, or is eternal life something more than this?”

And here is what some very kind people have said about it:

“Matt Hyam’s exploration of John the Beloved’s view of judgment is a most welcome piece of biblical scholarship. It reveals a God who, far from threatening the world with an ultimatum of forthcoming destruction, has come in the flesh to rescue an already-perishing race from the pit we dug for ourselves. Hyam pulls back blinders of assumption to see what is obviously in the text, suggesting a beautiful gospel readily transposed to the 21st-century dilemma.”

– Brad Jersak (PhD), author of A More Christlike God.

“In this detailed study of familiar texts in John’s Gospel, Matt Hyam challenges traditional interpretations and offers fresh perspectives on what Jesus said, how John understood this and why this matters as we share the good news today.”

– Stuart Murray, author of Post Christendom.

“The implications of what Matt is saying couldn’t be more profound. Why follow Jesus? What is the Good News? What sort of life are we called to live? This study is a must read for anyone who thinks these questions are important.”

– Tim Nash, Nomad Podcast

“Words like “salvation, “judgment,” “perish,” “believe,” “eternal life” are necessarily employed when we talk about the good news as set forth in the Gospel of John — the most intentionally evangelistic of the four Gospels. But at a remove of two millennia these words have acquired assumed meanings that may not at all reflect how John or Jesus thought and spoke about the good news. In particular, there is a toxic way of reading John that has the peril of “eternal conscious torment” lurking around every corner. When John 3:16 (and other texts) are misread in this manner, the proclamation of the gospel often comes across as being threatened at gunpoint instead of being told of a savior who has come to your rescue. This is why Matt Hyam’s Life Before Death is so helpful, timely, and important. With scholarly attention and a deep respect for the text, Matt Hyam shows us how to read the Gospel of John, not as a threatening ultimatum, but as a gracious invitation. Hyam is helping to make the gospel beautiful again. I applaud this book!”

– Brian Zahnd, author of Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God

If you want to order a copy then please email me personally at matt@svc.church and you can pay via paypal. Otherwise, they are on sale at our church services. The price is £6, including postage.

*I wanted to call it, Love Jesus or He’ll Do You In, but Brad Jersak suggested Life Before Death was a better title. I will let you decide.